Well, as to the question about the quantum of loan, you may not have too much of a choice. What this means is that different banks have different calculations about the amount of loan they give to you; they may all look at your credit rating, your financial security and your income, and yet come out with different amounts. So you need to find out which bank is giving you the amount of loan that you are looking for.
Interest rates. Interest rates can change the amount of loan during the concept of a loan, and in the past, people have found that even a fixed interest rate loan is subject to some changes by the bank based on the overall changes in interest rates. Shop around for which bank is charging which interest rate, and whether a reduced rate has some conditions associated with it. Further, when the interest rates have dropped in the past, have these banks actually passed on these reduction of interest rates to their customers ? If not, then you should be avoiding such banks.
Customer service. How does the bank behave with you ? You will have to interact with a bank several times over the course of the loan amount, so look for the servicing nature of the bank. Do they treat you with respect and explain things to you without hiding, or do they just give you documents to sign ? Further, do they keep you waiting for a long time, or try to ensure that they have enough staff so that people do not have to wait for long periods ?
Prepayment penalty. I have friends who really don’t like the concept of a loan hanging over their heads for the next 10-15 years, so as and when they get any lump sum, they pay off the loan amount to some extent. If you are like this, then you should check with the loan terms to figure some aspects such as prepayment penalty, processing charges, switching charges (if you find a bank later offering a lower interest rate), etc.
Finally, look for customer reviews on the internet of how banks have behaved with respect to their loan portfolios in the past. You will get an idea of whether a bank is really customer oriented or not.

But investors have to be careful about their investments in such products. After some investors burned their fingers in some FMP offerings in 2008, the product was not as safe as it seemed. “Poor credit quality of papers and illiquidity of instruments were chief reasons behind the problems faced by FMP investors,” says Devendra Nevgi, founder of Delta Global Partners, a Mumbai-based investment advisory firm. As regulators have banned mutual funds from giving out indicative yields and portfolios that induced the investors in the past, it is difficult to judge the offerings in the market. “A fund manager may end up chasing higher yield at the cost of the quality of paper. This is a big risk an FMP investor faces,” says Nandkumar Surti, CIO of JP Morgan AMC.
So if you are sure you do not require the money for say, 12-15 months, you can consider an FMP. Given the abundant liquidity in the market, this may not be the best time to invest. “Short-term rates up to one year are expected to go up by 100 basis points. In February and March, investors may come across better opportunities, given the traditional withdrawal of liquidity owing to year end,” opines Mr Nevgi.

The high court bench of Justices Sharad Bobde and S J Kathawala on Monday dismissed as withdrawn an appeal filed by the company challenging an order of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. And, in response to an appeal filed by accident victim, Shweta Mehta, seeking an enhanced compensation from New India Assurance, the HC castigated the company for its “miserly” attitude and directed it to pay her the Rs 21.23 lakh that the tribunal had ordered in 2007 along with interest. “Pay the difference in amount already paid out of Rs 21.23 lakh at the rate of 12% from date of filing the petition till December 2002 and then at 7.5% between 2003 to 2006 and then again at the rate of 10% between January 2007 till the final amount is paid up.”

We take insurance in order that the money can help us in bad times, or at the loss of the money earner of the household; however, when the insurance company refuses to help us, it can be really problematic. In the case of accidents, it is the responsibility of the insurance company that has insured the vehicle to pay out compensation to the accident victims.

CHANDIGARH: The consumer disputes redressal forum has directed Shalimar Estate Ltd to pay 12% compensation on the total amount of Rs 23.30 lakh and Rs 5,000 as litigation cost to Ess Enn Sales Corporation of Himachal Pradesh.
As per the brochure, the respondents had also promised to handover the showroom’s possession to the complainant within a period of 2 years. Following this, Rs 23.30 lakh was paid by Ess Enn corporation. However, it was alleged that despite repeated requests, the respondents did not give any timeframe for handing over the showroom’s possession.

This is not an uncommon cases. Whether this be a residential or commercial transaction, if the builder decides to not cooperate, then it is difficult for the buyer to get satisfactory information from the builder; further, even in this judgment, there is no penalty, it is just the repayment of the amount with interest, something that the builder would anyhow need to give back – there is no penalty on the buyer.